Adjustable cutter-bar keeper



(No Model.)

J. ORIST &'J. S. -ALEXANDER..

ADJUSTABLE CUTTER BAR KEEPER.

No. 385,446. Patented July 3, 1888.

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JOHN ORIST AND JONAH S. ALEXANDER, OF BROWNING, MISSOURI.

ADJUSTABLE CUTTER BAR KEEPER.

EPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 385,446, dated July 3, 1888.

Application filed November 2;), 1857. Serial No. 256,148. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it" may concern:

Be it known that we, JOHN CRIST and J0- NAH S. ALEXANDER, citizens of the United States, residing at Browning, in the county of Linn and State of Missouri, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Adjustable Cutter-Bar Keepers, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to an improvement in adjustable cutter-bar keepers for harvestingmachines; and it consists in the peculiar construction and combination of devices that will be more fully set forth hereinafter, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a top plan view of the cutting apparatus of a harvester provided with an adjusting device embodying our improvements. Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse sectional view of the same, taken on the line 0500 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a similar View taken on the line 3 y of Fig. 1..

A represents the finger-bar of a harvester, which is provided on its front side with the forwardly-extending guard-fingers B of the usual construction, which guard-lingers are provided in their forward ends with open slots 0 and have their shanks provided on their upper sides with recesses D, the bottoms of the said recesses being in a horizontal plane with the lower side of the fingerbar. In the front edge of the finger-bar, at the center thereof, is out a rectangular recess, E.

F represents the cutter-bar, which is arranged in front of the'finger-bar and bears upon the upper sides of the shanks of the guard-fingers B, being arranged in the rear portions of the recesses D. This cutter-bar is provided with the usual triangular cutters, G, which extend forward into the slots 0 of the guard-fingers.

H represents a guide-rod, which is arranged in the front parts of the recesses D and bears against the front edge of the cutter-bar F, the said guide-rod serving to direct the cutter-bar evenly in its reciprocating movement and preventing it from binding.

The construction of our improved keeper is as follows:

I represents a block, which iits in the recess E in the front edge of the finger-bar. This block is provided on its lower side with. a

plate, K, having a forward-extending lip, L,

that bears under the cuttenbar, and a rearwardextending lip, M, that bears against the lower side of the finger-bar.

N represents a finger, which is arranged on the upper side of the block I and projects forward and bears upon the upper sides of the cutters and has the rearwardlyextending curved arms 0, which extend over the upper side of the finger-bar A and are provided at their rear ends with parallel slots P, which 6X- tend transversely on the finger-bar. The block- I and the linger N are formed in one solid casting.

R represents a pair of adjusting-bolts, which extend through openings in the finger-bar, pass through the slots 1?, and are provided on their upper threaded ends with washers S, to bear upon the rear ends of the arms 0, and with nuts T,ft0 clamp the said washers firmly against the said arms, so as to secure the finger N in any desired position on the finger-bar. By making the slots P in the arms 0 the keeper is adapted to be adjusted forward or rearward on the finger-bar, as will be readily understood.

The operation of our invention is as follows: As the cutterbar wears against the guide-bar H the keeper is adjusted forward slightly from time to time to take up the wear and prevent the cutters from dropping back and working loose in the slots 0 of the guard-fingers; The upper forward-projecting finger, N, serves to hold the cutter-bar down firmly on the shanks of the guard-fingers, and the lower forward projecting lip, L, serves to hold the lower side of the cutter-bar up in the proper position, thereby preventing the cutter-bar from becoming gradually lowered as it wears and allowing the cutters to tilt upward at their points and not run level on the guard-fingers.

By means of this adjustable keeper the draft of a harvesting-machine is very sensibly lessened, as the cutter-bar only bears against the front edge of the plate or block I, and does not create friction by contact with the front edge of the fingenbar throughout its entire length.

Another advantage gained by the use of this improved adjustable keeper is that the cutterbar is rendered much less liable to break, and the cutters are rendered more durable and are prevented from being jerked off the cutterbar by reason of their being kept at all times bearing snugly against the guard-fingers B.

Having thus described our invention, we claim- 1. In the cutting apparatus of a harvester, the combination of the finger-bar having the recess E in its front edge, the guard-fingers having the recesses D, the cutter-bar mounted to slide in the recesses in the guard-liugers, the block I, adapted to fit the recess E in the finger-bar and having the forward and rearward projecting lips L M, bearing, respectively, under the cutter-bar and finger-bar, and having the forward-projecting linger N, overlying the upper side of cutter-bar, and the rearwardextending arms secured to and adjustable on the finger-bar, substantially as described.

2. In the cutting apparatus of a harvester, the combination of the finger-bar having the recess E in its front edge, the guard-lingers having the recesses D, the cutter-bar mounted to slide in the recesses in the guard-fingers, the guide-bar H, also in said recesses and bearing against the front side of the cutter-bar, the block I, adapted to fit the recess E in the finger-bar and having the forward and rearward projecting lips L M, bearing, respectively, under the cutter-bar and finger-bar, and having the forward-projecting finger N, overlying the upper side of the euttenbar, and the rearward extending arins secured to and adjustable on the fingerbar, substantially as described.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our own we have hereto affixed our-signatures in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN ORIST. JONAH S. ALEXANDER.

Vitnesses:

JOHN T. J ONES, H. O. PIERSON. 

